Hockey Nin
by ExplosiveNoteNinja
Summary: With a pathetic preseason, the Konoha Kitsunes are starting off with more than a few problems. When the stakes become even worse, how will hockey team captain Uzumaki Naruto keep things together? AU hockey fic. A few OCs, only one is mine. Used w/permison
1. What're you lookin' at, ya hockey puck?

**Disclaimer:**Swirly (**points to self**) doesn't own Naruto (sadly). Nor does she own the various hockey references used in this fic. So there. : P

**Warning: **This fic is AU (Alternate Universe), contains slight NaruHina, SakuLee, ShikaTema, InoChou, KibaOC, GaaraOC and KakashiOC. The OC's for Kakashi and Gaara are not mine, but I am using them with permission. Oh, yeah, and Sasuke may be slightly OOC, or a little more than slightly. XD I may also throw in some VERY light AyaSasu (AyamexSasuke). Have fun. : P

Me: **runs around insanely **Ahhh! I was supposed to update Walk Like a Shinobi! Gah!

Naruto:So do it later.

Me:Easy for you to say! I have...to...uhh...Nevermind.

Naruto:**smirks **Thought so.

Me:SHUT UP AND GET YOUR GEAR ON! THIS IS A HOCKEY AU FIC!

Naruto:Say what?!

Me:**nods wisely **You won't be able to be the captain of the team if you go in without gear on.

Kakashi:**sweatdrop **Do any of us...actually know how to play hockey?

Me:Kiba does. : P click teh linky! (not my pic by the way!)-- e-vay./art/Verb-Kiba-47443724

Kiba:Wow. I do. XD

Me:Oh, yeah, and this fic contains AU-ness (duh), a few OC pairings (two of them are not mine, but I use them with permission! : P ), and general hockey based violence and language. XD Yesh. XD Oh, and for those of you wondering, I decided to write this a while ago (okay, I decided to write it recently, but the idea appeared a while ago). So, I was at Game Seven between the Caps and the Flyers (I WAS THREE ROWS AWAY FORM THE ICE! PW0NED!), and even though I'm a Flyers fan at heart, I wanted the Caps to win so they could get the cup. : ( Poor likkle Capitals. So, this is my tribute to them—Naruto style! XD

Hockey Ninja

The cold hiss of the ice beneath his skates...the _swoosh _off snowspray coming off the blades as he turned sharply and drove the puck down the line. There it was, the goal...the opposition had no chance against him now...nothing could stop him...it was wide open...the goalie wouldn't even know what had hit him.

There it goes, sailing across the ice, slamming into the back of the net, the crowd roars and jumps to its feet...

_Yeah, right._

Naruto turned sharply to avoid actually running into the goalie and bowling him over. Akimichi Chouji, the goalie, gave him a glare through his mask as he whooshed past.

"Sorry, Chouji!" Naruto called over his shoulder. Then, as a way of explanation, "Daydreaming!"

Chouji rolled his eyes and flipped his mask up, going for the bottle of water that was placed on top of the net. After satisfying his thirst, he recapped the bottle and put it down again. Other members of the team, however, were not to be so easily placated.

"Look alive, dobe!" Sasuke, the right lineman, yelled across the rink to Naruto, who shot him a glare.

"Are sure you should be talking to your team captain like that, teme?!" Naruto retorted, coming to a halt and sticking his tongue out at Sasuke.

Form where he stood on his skates near the wall, Kiba burst out laughing. "Oh, nice!" he said, holding his sides. "Real mature for a captain, Naruto!"

"Exactly," muttered Sasuke, before Naruto managed to scoop up some of the snowspray that peppered the ice and chuck a fair-sized snowball at him. Sasuke ducked, before Kiba pinned him on the side of the head. Sasuke sent the other offensive player a death glare, which only made Kiba laugh again.

"Ahhh, c'mon," Shikamaru groaned from where he was leaning against the safety net. "We can't even get through a practice without you three being idiots?"

"It's them, not me!" Sasuke snapped, looking indignant.

"Still, it's troublesome."

"Well, you use that line to much!"

"Do I care?"

"Oh, shut _up_," Kankuro snapped irritably. It was well known among the team that he hadn't been getting much sleep lately do to an injury from last season working up again in his back, and yet he was determined to play again anyway. You had to give him points for that, right? "Can't we just finish this practice so we can eat?"

"Not like it'll make a difference," Sasuke muttered. "We've been in the bottom five teams for the past three seasons. What'll make that change this year?"

"Don't be so unyouthful, Sasuke-kun!" shouted Lee, raising a fist in the air defiantly. "We shall most definitely win the Yondaime Cup this season! No one shall be able to suppress our explosion of YOUTH!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Um, is 'unyouthful' even a word, Lee?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah, well," Sasuke said, looking dubious. "'Youth' isn't the only thing that we need to get through this season with our pathetic amount of dignity, Lee."

While Lee looked shocked and blabbered his astonishment that Sasuke could event suggest such a thing, an old man in the announcement box of the arena looked annoyed and tapped the speaker button.

Naruto winced as the speaker screeched and Jiriya bellowed at them, "Get back to practice, you guys! We have a game this weekend, first of the new season, or did you forget?! And you already made your oh-so-impressive mark on the pregames, so don't screw this up!"

"He's right," Gaara put in quietly, propelling himself across to the slick ice to where they had all gathered by the goal. "We should actually put in some real effort this year. No more conflicts."

Chouji nodded wisely and hunched down again, tapping his stick against the ice. "Good point. Plus, we can't leave for dinner until we're done here. So hurry up and shoot."

Naruto rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on the stick. "Okay, here!" He brought the stick up and back before slamming the puck towards the goal in a magnificent slapshot. Chouji dove to stop it before Kiba interfered and skated around the back of the goal with it.

"Go, Kiba!" Naruto cheered as Kiba shot at Chouji's unprotected left side of the goal and scored. He and the dog-lover high-fived and grinned while Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Now if only you two could do that to the opposing team's goal," he said. Naruto and Kiba glared at him.

"Shut it, teme!" they both snapped at once.

Jiriya's voice boomed over the loudspeakers again. "Pick it up, boys, or you're buyin' your own pizza tonight!"

And since nobody wanted to pay the bill that evening, they all readjusted the chinstraps on their helmets and got back to work.

-

Hatake Kakashi was waiting in the lobby for them when they finally came out, reading a book and propped up against the wall. He turned a page in his novel, oblivious to the irritated scowl darkening Naruto and Sasuke's features.

"Hey! Sensei!" Naruto yipped, trying to gain some attention.

No response.

Sasuke glowered and snatched the book out of his former coach's hands. Or tried to, anyway. Kakashi held on to it grimly, as though his fingers were glued to the literature. And still Kakashi didn't notice them. Sasuke threw his hands up in disgust and tramped back to the team, scowling.

A loud, happy laugh sounded from the other side of the lounge, and the entire team turned their heads to look as a girl with shoulder-length golden-blonde hair logged across the lobby with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"You're doing it wrong," she informed them, grinning broadly. She turned to Kakashi and motioned to them over her shoulder. They all leaned forward. "Like this."

Having said so, she promptly grabbed a hold of the top of the book, flicking her wrist deftly and wrenching it out of Kakashi's grasp, snapping it closed. Kakashi blinked at the empty space between his hands, then blinked again and looked up at her. It took him a second, before a look of wry amusement, boredom, and slight irritation crossed his face.

"You always have to take my book away, Moriko," he sighed, grinning lopsidedly and holding his hand out to take the book back.

Moriko dangled it away from his reach and tossed it to Naruto, who caught it easily. She laughed. "Sensei, hasn't anyone ever told you not to read porn in public?"

Kakashi scowled and almost pouted, rolling his eyes up as if thinking. "Maybe, I don't remember."

"Exactly!"

"Nice work, Moriko!" Naruto laughed, tossing the book up and down in his hand and flipping it over to Sasuke, who promptly tossed it backwards to Neji, a defenseman. Kakashi's eyes followed thee path of the book obsessively. "We can never get it away from him. How do you do it?"

Moriko grinned. "Years of practice. Speaking of which, sorry I just got here—Sakura called about meeting you all here and insisted I come too. Where is she, anyhow? I don't see her." Shikamaru raised his hands helplessly.

"We haven't—"

"Sasuke-kuuuun!" a loud voice called, making Sasuke grimace. Haruno Sakura bounced over to them, smiling happily. "Hi! Sorry, everyone, I got held up at the clothes store...Oh, Moriko, you made it! Good, because now we seriously need to go..."

"Wait, go where?" Sai asked from the back of the cluster of hockey players. "We just finished practice. Isn't dinner next?"

"Really, Sakura," Kakashi added, turning his eyes away momentarily from the path of his book, which was now in the hands of Shino, a nearly silent defenseman. "What do you have planned?"

Sakura suddenly split into a grin and put a finger to her lips secretly, winking. "Oh, you'll see!"

Naruto whined, "Why can't you just tell us, Sakura-chan? I'm not in the mood to guess anything!"

"Well, I—"

"Ummm...am I intruding on anything h-here?" a timid voice asked them. A crowd of heads swung around to look for the user of the voice immediately. Naruto's ocean-blue eyes landed on a furiously blushing girl with long violet hair and lavender eyes. She was looking at the floor and pushing her fingers together shyly.

After a second of blinking confusedly, Naruto inquired, "Who're you?"

Sakura bounded over and hugged the girl tightly, pushing her forward to meet the team. "Hinata! I'm so glad you decided to come!"

"Hinata?" Neji blinked, clearing his eyes. "Oh, it is you. Sorry, but it's been a while since I'd seen you, cousin."

Hinata stammered, "R-right, I-I w-was b-busy in college f-finishing my d-degree, so..."

"Which college?" Naruto immediately asked, curious.

"K-Konoha University..."

"I went there!" Naruto exclaimed, as the rest of the group except for Kankuro and Gaara nodded. "How come I haven't seen you, then?"

Hinata looked at him, her eyes widening slightly. What were the chances the 'sports event' Sakura had hinted at would end up including the famous Uzumaki Naruto? "O-Oh, I s-saw you around, b-but we always had different classes, a-and..."

"Hey, hey," Moriko interrupted, impatient to get moving. "We can all catch up later, but Sakura, didn't you have some kind of plot to drag us into?"

Sakura paused again before smiling widely. "Yup! Everybody get in their cars, and follow me as I drive. Temari and Ino and a few others are going to meet us there, but right now we have to hurry before the reservation expires!"

"Reservation to _what_?" Kiba persisted, annoyed. He could see Akamaru, the wolf-sized white dog who was always with him waiting expectantly outside for them, because for whatever reason no dogs were allowed in the building. Akamaru would be bored after a day waiting for Kiba to finish up his practice...

Sakura grinned. "A good-luck party!"

Blank confusion registered on most of the group's faces. "Ummm...huh?" Kankuro said, echoed by some of the others.

"Just get in, and come on!"

Moriko rolled her eyes and started after the hyper Sakura. "Guess it's treat time, guys..."

Sai put a finger to his chin thoughtfully before turning to Naruto and saying, "I hope you don't get wasted on root beer and ramen again, Naruto."

Naruto pouted and stuck his tongue out at Sai as he turned to follow the happy Sakura out the door. "Shut up, Sai..." he muttered. The rest of the team laughed at his discomfort as they left the lobby and piled into their cars.

-

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Naruto had entered a small restaurant. And about five minutes after that, the blonde boy was dancing wildly on top of the counter, cheered on by everyone else.

Kakashi laughed as Naruto and Moriko ended up in a wrestling match over the last piece of cake a half hour after that. "You were smart to put this party together, Sakura," he said, swishing his drink in his right hand and propping his chin up against the table with his left. Sakura turned to him.

"Really?" she said, green eyes blinking. "How come? It was only an idea..."

Kakashi winced as his newer eye throbbed once. Bad premonition, and in the middle of a party, too. "Because. Our opening game this weekend is against the Gato Gangmen. Their starting forward is Momochi Zabuza, a pro veteran. And I hear that they also have a new member on their team they recruited from some college. That could be a problem, especially with our record."

Sakura nodded wisely, although most of what Kakashi had said had gone straight over her pink-haired head. "So the boys need to be on the top of their game this weekend, ne?"

Kakashi nodded again. "We'll need to be on the top of our game for the entire season this time, Sakura."

She sighed and blew hair out of her face. "I know, sensei."

On top of the table, Moriko had won the battle for the cake, and Naruto was preparing to leap off the counter top.

"Herre Iyyy...cooommee!!" he shouted, catapulting himself off of the table and into the mass of people. Many of the patrons cheered and clapped as he was caught by Kiba and Sai and thrown again, where Naruto landed in a somersault and held both his arms up in triumph. Hinata giggled in the corner and everyone laughed.

"All right!" Naruto roared, shaking his fists at the ceiling and dancing a jig. "I feel great! We are so gonna kick butt this season! Yondaime Cup, here we come!"

-

**Author's Note:**HA! HA! HAAAA!

Do you like it so far? You'd better. : P

Lol, just kidding. Tell me whatcha think--but flames are welcome if you want me to flame you back and block ya', so there. : P

Moriko: Hey, I'm in this now! : D Wait, I get Kiba, right?

Me: **sighs **Yes, Moriko, you get Kiba.

Moriko: OWNED! XD

Naruto: **high offa ramen **SNOWBALL FIGHT! XD

Kakashi: -.-"

Lol, so, yeah, enjoy! XD I needed my brother to help me with the hockey terms...-.-"...my dignity has DIED...XD. Okay, so, since I'm still juggling like four other fics (even though two are on hiatus, my friend keeps buggin' me to update them...-.-"'""'""'), and Walk Like a Shinobi WILL BE UPDATED SOON. So don't worry. : P **waves **Bye!


	2. Some New Arrivals

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, the National Hockey League, my brother who's helping me with all of these crazy terms (yeah right I don't own him. : P XD), or anything else.

Moriko: YOU TOOK OVER TWO MONTHS TO UPDATE THIS!

Me: **ducks flying spork **Well, sorry! I told you all I wasn't going to update very much until I got the other fics outta the way!

Mori: Well, you took over a month to update Ask Bleach, too! And you just brought that back!

Me: Humpf. Well, blame my procrastination.

Mori: Why did you take so long for this, anyway?

Me: Welllll...I wanted to rewrite the first chapter, but decided against it.

Mori: And what made you update now, anyway?

Me: Bullet in the Brainpan Squish, a.k.a., BB, is a friend of mine here and recently sent me a mail ranting that I should get off my ass and update. So you can thank her for the chapter here. : P

Mori: Uh-huhhhhhhhhhhh...

Me: Oh, and I also don't own the two other OC's who show up in here. Just Mori.

Mori: Pfffft, yeah right...

Me: XD

-

Hockey Nin

Thankfully for everyone present, the staff of the restaurant had been gracious enough to supply another few cakes for the team, wishing them good luck in the game tomorrow. As Moriko immediately attacked the chocolate cake, Naruto ordered another round of ramen.

Opening his wallet, he blinked. Empty! With a groan, he tossed it to the counter, propping his head on his fist.

"Darn it," he muttered, "I hardly ever get to come here anymore."

A small hand darted in to scoop up his wallet. Alarmed, Naruto sat up and started to shout, "Hey—!"

"Y-You left your cash in the inside flap," Hinata informed him, handing him his wallet back again. Naruto paused before taking it back from her and checking the inside flap. A wad of tens jumped out, President Hamilton staring at him.

"Oh," Naruto muttered, taking out a few bills and tucking the rest away. "Thanks, Hinata."

"No problem." She looked down at the floor, a teeny smile on her face. "I used to have to remind Neji-nee-san of that all the time. I s-suppose you could say I have experience."

Naruto nodded and looked at her closely. After the first hour or so at the party and Naruto's epic counter dive, Hinata had almost completely lost her stutter. The bright red blush on her cheeks had faded to a powdery pink shade, and she had stopped fidgeting with her fingers. Coming to the conclusion that she was only shy with new people, Naruto waved the cook over.

"Hey, Teuichi-san," he said, "Can I get another two bowls of the miso ramen?"

"Sure, kid," the cook nodded sharply. Twisting his head to one side, he regarded Naruto slyly. "Any reason you're trying to defy physics and eat out of two bowls at once?"

"One's for me. But Hinata hasn't had any yet."

The old cook's eyes flashed knowingly, and he nodded curtly before saying, "Ah, I see." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Naruto patted the stool beside him. "Well? Go ahead and sit down."

Hinata blinked, then sat down on the edge of the seat and balanced precariously. Naruto eyes her but didn't say anything.

"So..."Naruto began, searching for a topic. He wasn't good with introductions, mostly because everyone in town already knew him. "Um, you're Neji's cousin?"

Hinata looked up, surprised. "Yeah. How long h-have you know Neji-nee-san?"

Naruto's brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "I don't know," he said eventually, shrugging. "A while, I guess. Somewhere around middle school's when I first met him...gods, he was an ass." He looked at her quickly. "Um, no offense, or anything."

To his surprise, Hinata burst out laughing. "Oh, n-no, I get it. Nee-san can be like that to some people."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, he was. After a while we were friends, though, and I saw him again in college. He actually has a degree as a lawyer, but he got recruited to training camp for hockey, anyway."

"I was wondering about that...D-Didn't know Nee-san could play all that well."

Grinning again, Naruto told her, "Well, compared to yours truly, he can't. I _am _team captian, after all!" He laughed lightly, and she smiled as Teuichi gave them their ramen and slunk away again.

Suddenly, the shop door opened, and three girls came in. Snapping her fan shut and dropping it back in her bag, Temari smiled at them all apologetically. "Sorry, everyone! I can't believe we're so late! Gods, Ino, I told you we should've just taken the metro!"

Ino, the tall, slim blonde, flicked a strand of hair back behind her ear and rolled her eyes. "Oh, the taxi ride wasn't so bad, Temari."

"Yes," Temari growled, hands on hips, "It was. We spent over an hour in that traffic!"

"Would you really rather have taken the metro?"

"Yes!"

"The metro saves energy," Moriko told them both matter-of-factly. "Most public transportation does in this city. So, next time," she rounded on Ino, and the expression on her face told the blonde clearly that this was not an option, but a demand, "take the metro. Less carbon emissions that way then an hour stuck in traffic."

Temari glared at Ino, triumphant. "See? I told you she'd agree with me."

"But—"

"I have a bit of a better excuse," the older woman said, an eyebrow raised as she stared levelly at the arguing girls. Ino and Temari shut up, and Geshi continued. "I got hung up at the riding centre. Some of the horses got out of their stables somehow, and I had to help round them up again. I took the metro—"

"Ha!" Temari muttered at Ino, who scowled.

Geshi glared at them again and finished, "I took the metro and ran into these two on the walk from the station. So, here we are. Ta-daaaa."

After a moment, Kakashi said, "You're right. That is a better excuse."

"You're just saying that because you're married," Ino muttered, flouncing over to the counter to order a drink. Temari rolled her eyes and went to sit down by Shikamaru.

Geshi rolled her eyes and grabbed a slice of lemon cake before taking a seat by Kakashi. "Teenagers!"

"Actaully," Moriko reminded her as she walked by them, "We're in our twenties, thank you very much."

"You don't act like it," Geshi informed her. Moriko scowled and snatched a bit of whipped cream off the top of Geshi's lemon cake. Before the wavy brown-haired woman could react, Moriko had eaten the whipped cream and ducked behind the counter.

Kakashi chuckled. "And thus the war begins."

Geshi growled in Moriko's direction, but sat back down again. Stopping with the fork half-way to her mouth. She snorted, looking at Naruto and Hinata, who were chatting animatedly. "Look at those two. Naruto can be such a flirt."

"That's Hyuuga Hinata," Kakashi told her, arching an eyebrow. "She's Neji's cousin. Naruto knows that—do you really think he's flirting with her?"

Geshi shrugged. "I can't tell from here. Maybe I'll ask him later."

"Don't. He'll blame me."

"Oh well, you _are _his teacher."

Kakashi glared at her. "You're evil."

Geshi grinned. "Yup." Swallowing another bite of lemon cake, she frowned, then smiled again. "I just remembered something."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I got a call today." Geshi paused and looked at Kakashi slyly. "From Egypt."

Kakashi blinked. "Egypt?"

"Uh-huh. Who do we know who's studying there?"

Suddenly, Kakashi smiled brightly. "Kani! Is she coming home?"

"Uh-huh. And something else. She's bringing a friend with her."

"A friend? Not a boy, is it?"

Geshi shook her head no. "Not a boy. Forgot her name, though...something like the name of a character in a book I read once..." She frowned again, trying to remember.

"What book?" Kakashi coaxed, trying to help her remember. He was thrilled his daughter, Kani, was coming home from Egypt, but he was curious to know who was coming with her.

"Have you read the _Uglies_series, by Scott Westerfield?"

"Once. In high school."

"What was the name of Tally's best friend again?"

"You mean Shay?"

"Yeah, that's her..."

Across the room, Gaara had snapped his head up and was staring at them intently, listening to every word. Kakashi looked at Geshi amusedly. "So Kani's bringing a book character home with her from Egypt?"

Geshi glared at him. "_No_, she's not. The girl's _name _is Shay. Shayshaymura, I think."

Gaara's face, unnoticed by anyone, flickered into a hard, stoic mask. "Mura."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, nice to know Kani found a kindred spirit. When will they be back?"

"In time for the boy's first game this season, I think...Gaara? What's the matter?" Geshi asked, staring at the red--head as he abruptly stood up, dropped some money on the counter-top, and strode out the room.

Everyone stared after him blankly. After a second, Shikamaru asked loudly, "What's with him?"

Moriko, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura glanced at each other. This was either going to be really good, or really bad.

-

Me: Yes, Gaara, what is your problem?

Moriko: Dammit, Siwrly, you just made thigns really complicated.

Me: **smug **Oh, I know. This is going to be fun.

Moriko: Damn sadist...

Me: Oh, forget you. BB, here's the chapter you wanted, and sorry if I made the background for Shay a bit hazy. To everyone else, Shay isn't mine, she's the OC of Bullet in the Brainpan Squish, a good friend of mine and a really brilliant author. GO LOOK AT HER STORIES OR ELSE! NARF!

Moriko: ...Oooo...kay...then...

Me: Oh yeah, and Geshi isn't mine, either. She's the OC of BluPiratePuppies, my sister. She's also a really good author, READ HER STORIES! NOMPFG!

Moriko: ...'Nompfg'? What the bloody Hel is 'nompfg'?

Me: You'll never know. : P

P.s. _Uglies_ really is a book series. They're really good, go get them! And yes, I mean NOW! XD (And BB only recently read the series. Shay's name wasn't ripped off from them, okay? Good. : P )

Well, more hockey stuff next chapter, which will show up soon, I promise you. XD Bye!


	3. Round and Round We Go

**Disclaimer: **Nope. No ownage here. Well, unless it's a fight. Or a reading contest. Or some kind of bizarre wasabi eating competition. Or--nevermind.

Moriko: Typing this already? Sure you don't want to make them wait a few months first?

Me: Shut it, Mori. My gods, nasty much?

Moriko: Speak for yourself.

Me: I have a valid reason! This iMac is driving me bonkers--and I mean more than usual!

Moriko: Niiice clarification.

Me: Pipe down and get in the fic.

Moriko: Yes, O most irritable one!

Me: RAWR!

Moriko: O,O XD I'm amused.

Me: That makes one of us...XD

-

Hockey Nin

As the paper door to the little shop _swished _closed again behind Gaara, Geshi blinked.

"What?" she asked the four staring at her and Kakashi. "What'd I do?"

Instead of answering, Naruto apologized quickly to Hinata and slid off the stool, heading towards the door. Sakura stopped swooning over Sasuke long enough to do likewise and trotted quickly after Naruto, while Sasuke managed to somehow slide away from Ino and hurry out.

Moriko had made a point to stay a bit longer and blew air huffily out her nose. "Nice," she informed Geshi acidly as she pushed the door out of her way. "Real nice, Gesh."

Geshi actually managed to get out the word "What--" before the door swung shut again and Moriko was gone. Eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed, concerned frown, Geshi turned, exasperated, to Kakashi.

"Any clue what just happened here?"

Sighing, he shook his head and stared woefully at his drink. "Not at all."

Outside, Moriko jogged to catch up with the others. They were standing just outside the restaurant, staring at the lone figure of Gaara down the street. He was sitting on a bench, glaring at the ground. No one really dared to come closer.

Mori tugged on Naruto's sleeve. "Hey. Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"I only know part of the story. Could you fill me in on the rest, please?"

Naruto glanced at her. "Well, how much do you know?"

Moriko paused, considering this. Eventually, she shrugged. "Enough, I guess. Nevermind. I'll wait until Gaara's ready to talk about it himself."

Naruto nodded. "That'd probably be smart."

"Very smart," muttered Sasuke, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning around. "I'll go back in."

"Oh! Wait for me, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura smiled at him hugely and began to follow him again, but Sasuke sped up and ducked into a secluded corner as fast as he could. Sakura pouted and peered around, trying to find him. Failing to do so, she let out a huff and went back into Ichiraku.

Moriko rolled her eyes. "She's gone. You can come out now, Sasuke."

Shifting uneasily from where he had hastily hidden in the shadows, Sasuke looked out warily. "I swear, they get worse every day."

"We have bigger problems," Naruto informed him. Sasuke frowned but didn't object. They both turned to look at Gaara again. He hadn't moved.

Mori frowned. "Yeah, but see, the thing is..."

"What?" Sasuke cocked his head to one side. "What is it?"

She sighed. "I knew Shay. She's my friend. I just have no idea what happened after she was hospitalized."

Naruto shrugged. "Neither do we, really. Do you know WHY she was hospitalized?"

"Wasn't it an accident?" Moriko frowned. "Then again, I never knew Shay to be one to get in accidents..."

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered, "Us either."

"That's what we were told," Naruto explained to her. "But considering how she turned away all visitors,--even Gaara--we never really believed it."

"So then what--"

Sasuke snorted, somehow finding irony. "_Never _'believe it'? I'm shocked, Naruto."

Naruto made a face. "Oh, shut up. I haven't said 'believe it' since the ninth grade."

"Yeah, and I haven't cursed my brother's name since then, either, and that was one of the last times Gaara saw Shay, but the mystery continues."

Moriko glared at him, unamused. "I think I heard Ino coming outside. Might wanna run, Sasuke."

Naruto snorted as Sasuke glared back at her. "Very funny, Moriko."

"No, I'm serious."

"Yeah, right."

She shrugged and smiled to herself secretly. "Suit yourself."

"I will."

"THIS oughta be good," Naruto said with a grin.

"Oh," Mori promised him, "It will be."

Sasuke made a venomous face at both of them. "Go soak your heads, you two."

"Will do," Naruto said cheerfully. "In fact, I'll get right on that, Sasuke."

"Oh, yes," Moriko added, loud in her fake cheer, "Immediately, Sasuke!"

"Without hesitation, Sasuke!"

"Of course, Sasuke!"

"Wouldn't want to disobey you, Sasuke!"

"Absolutely not, Sas--"

"_Enough_," Sasuke growled, eyes flickering towards the door to Ichiraku warily. "The stalkers will hear you!"

Moriko grinned at him cheekily. "That's the point, dude."

If looks could kill, Moriko would've spontaneously combusted on the spot. "You wouldn't."

"Too late!"

"What--"

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed, possessively latching hold on his arm. "Why're you out here? You'll get a cold! Here, you can have my jacket..."

"You aren't wearing a jacket, Ino," Sasuke grit out through his teeth, mentally noting to drown Moriko and Naruto later.

"Oh, I know."

The look of pure horror on Sasuke's face as Ino started to take off her 'jacket' was too much--Naruto and Moriko took one look at each other and exploded into howls and hoots of laughter. Sasuke yanked his arm free of Ino's grip and immediately began to run down the street, in the opposite direction of Gaara. Ino made a face and set off in pursuit.

A few minutes later and their sides aching, Naruto was the first to gain control over himself again. Wiping a tear from his eye and attempting to smother his grin, he helped Mori up from where she had collapsed against the wall in hysterics. As Mori got a handle on herself again, they both turned to look at Gaara again. He had turned so that his back was to them, head bent and barely illuminated in the street lamps.

Moriko and Naruto shared a guilty expression. "Dammit," Mori muttered, good cheer forgotten as she kicked the street, "I think we just pushed him even farther."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, also muttering. He sighed and turned to go back to Ichiraku. "He won't show up at practice tomorrow."

"I didn't think so..."

"..."

"..."

"...So, should we keep a watch for Sasuke, or what?"

Shrugging carelessly, Moriko cast a last glance at Gaara before pushing the door open. "Nah, he'll be fine. In fact, if we don't watch it, we won't live to see sundown tomorrow."

A ghost of a smile flit across Naruto's tired face. "That's probably true."

Before disappearing back over to the cake counter again, Moriko cast a sly glance his way. "You know, for all that's on your mind, you seem to still be able to think straight."

Naruto blinked. "What, you mean Gaara? And Shay?"

Moriko grinned to herself again, swerving to the right to avoid an encounter with Geshi. "Yeah. Sure. Gaara and Shay. Go make sure Hinata doesn't have to pay your check, will you?"

"Huh? Oh! Hinata!"

As Naruto rushed to apologize to the Hyuuga girl for leaving so suddenly, someone clamped a hand down on his shoulder.

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked, surprised. "Kakashi-sensei, what's up? I'm kind of busy right now..."

For a moment, Kakashi fixed him with a level eye, wondering whether this could wait. Finally, he removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder and stepped back. "Right. I'd like to talk to you later, though..."

"Yeah, sure, will do, sensei..."

Not entirely caring about what his teacher wanted to discuss, Naruto hurriedly returned to his stool. He grinned at Hinata nervously and shrugged.

"Sorry about that. We had to make sure Gaara was okay."

Hinata nodded and offered him a tiny smile. "Oh, I g-get it, that's o-okay. I have a sister, I know what it's like to f-feel that way."

Naruto blinked, amazed. "You have a sister? Neji never mentioned any of you. Huh."

Hinata didn't say anything for a moment, then, "W-Well, Neji-ni-san always h-had more important things on his mind then us."

"What do you mean?" Naruto inquired quizzically. Hinata shrugged uncomfortably and slurrped the last of her ramen. Pushing her empty bowl away from her, she spun around on her stool absently.

"Nothing. N-Nevermind."

Naruto pursed his lips, deciding if he should pry or not. Eventually he just nodded and raised his hand to get Teuichi's attention.

"Check, please."

-

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, BEEEEEEEP!!_

"Oh, come on..." Naruto grumbled, burying his head further into his pillows. "Shut up, you stupid alarm clock."

_Beep! _shrilled the clock, refusing to be silenced. _Beep! BEEEEEEEEP!!_

Naruto turned to glower at it. "I'm awake, aren't I? Pipe down so I can fix that."

_BEEEEEEEEEEEPP--!!_

"Son of a...Take that!"

_Bip!_

Naruto glared at the cord he had yanked out of the wall as the clock lost power and went dead. Grumbling something about snooze buttons, he yawned hugely and dragged himself out of bed. Stretching, he looked to see what time it was and then remembered he had just killed his clock. Scowling, he got dressed anyway, grabbed his bag of hockey gear, and took the stairs two at a time.

Yawning again, he quickly heated up some toast and munched on it thoughtfully, trying to remember what he had to do today besides practice. Then, recalling the events from last night, he choked on his orange juice and bolted out the door. Hopping into his Hybrid (the only car Moriko approved of so far), he flicked the key and floored it, screeching away from his house and heading to the Uchiha district.

Slamming his door shut and locking the car with a similar and annoying _Bip!, _Naruto gazed around carefully. He knew that Sasuke rarely visited his old home anymore since his family's house had caught on fire. But in times of emergency, Sasuke would take cover. If you knew where to look, you could find him.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto called, shifting uncomfortably. "Oi! Come out, dammit! We'll be late for practice! Hey!"

While Naruto warily scoped out the front lawn of the apartment complex that Sasuke sometimes hid in, something clattered on the road behind him. Whipping around, Naruto pointed an accusing finger. "Ha! There you are!"

A rock the size of a fist came rocketing out of nowhere. Jumping aside with a yelp, Naruto dashed for his car. Hearing Sasuke swear, he unlocked the Hybrid and threw the trunk door open. Grabbing his stick out of his hockey bag, he fell instinctively into the position he used when the puck was dropped--knees bent, hunched over slightly, both hands choking the stick. Another rock came skidding out of the bushes, bouncing across the concrete like a demonic skipping stone.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in concentration and charged to meet the rock. Aware that he was doing something incredibly stupid and might very well break his stick, he pulled back and connected with a _thwack!_ The rock spun away, sailing over the ground the way it had came.

After another second, there was a crashing sound and several loud curses. Letting his shoulders relax and coming out of his 'ready' crouch, Naruto laughed.

"Come on, Sasuke. You can try throwing rocks at Moriko later and see how she reacts, alright?"

Sasuke stood up and brushed himself off, wincing and glaring daggers at Naruto. "Oh, shut up. Like anybody would be stupid enough to throw a rock at her. She'd throw a car at you."

Naruto laughed again, slapping Sasuke good-naturally on the shoulder. Wincing again, Sasuke glared once more, but Naruto missed it. "Yeah, that's why we're all really lucky that she can't actually lift a car, huh?"

"If she could trash one without getting sued, she would."

"Got that right. That's why I drive a Hybrid."

Muttering about spiking Naruto's drink later, Sasuke slid into the passenger's seat and and buckled his seat belt. Naruto meticulously checked his stick for damage before re-adding it to his hockey bag. Turning the car back on and closing the door, he asked, "So, where's your gear? We don't have time to go back to your brother's. Please tell me you left it at the rink yesterday."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I did. Now let's go. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can ambush Moriko."

Naruto grinned. "Good luck with that."

"You left me to get away from her!" Sasuke exploded, giving Naruto one of his patented 'I-am-so-going-to-brutally-kill-you-later-for-this' glares. "Ino's more crazy than Sakura, you know that! Dammit, Naruto, you could've at least come and picked me up last night. Or have made Mori shut up."

Naruto shrugged, stopping for a stop sign and then moving again. "Hey, you could've called if you were in the clear and wanted a ride."

For a moment, nothing coherent came out of Sasuke's mouth, only enraged spluttering. Then, his face still purple-tinted, he hissed through his teeth, "I left my phone on the counter at Ichiraku. You should know, you picked it up and put it in your pocket, dammit!"

Naruto grinned as he sped up to beat the red light and turned a corner to the rink. "Yeah, I know. Now get outta my car."

Still muttering mutinously, Sasuke clambered out and waited as Naruto grabbed his gear and locked the Hybrid. Entering through the double plexi-glass doors, they nodded to the receptionist, who smiled back and waved. The sounds of a puck being smacked without mercy by a group of hockey sticks was already echoing down the halls as Sasuke and Naruto hurriedly strapped their pads and helmets on and tied their skates nice and tight. Grabbing their individual sticks, they clomped onto the ice.

"Yo, Naruto!" Kiba called, swerving to intercept the puck from Neji. "Sup, Sasuke?" He grinned. "Not being followed still, I hope?"

"Bite me, Dog-Boy," Sasuke informed him, shoulder-slamming the Inuzuka into the plexi-glass wall surrounding the rink.

"Ow!"

"Who's got the puck now, Doggy?"

"Hey! Give me back that puck, dammit!"

Naruto was about to start chasing them both when Neji glided up to him. "Kakashi wants to talk to you," he said, shrugging before Naruto could ask why and starting a lazy circle around the rink while Sasuke and Kiba fought over the puck. Chouji, stuck in the goalie's net, sighed in exasperation and sat back to watch.

Blinking, Naruto remembered that Kakashi had wanted to speak to him last night, too. Bemused, he looked around, wondering if Kakashi was in the stands or if he had just not seen him in the locker room. Then, with another loud burst of static, Jiraiya's voice boomed out in a mocking tone, "Uzumaki Naruto to the front office, Uzumaki Naruto to the front office please. Your teacher would like to speak with you! Haha!"

"Shut up, Jiraiya," growled Naruto, sighing as he re-entered the locker room and took off his skates--climbing the stairs in those would be just stupid.

Almost as if the Ero-Sennin had heard him, Jiraiya added the phrase, "Don't call me that!", and turned the speaker off.

Naruto sighed, ascending the stairs quickly, wondering what on earth was so important. Reaching the door, he was surprised when it opened before he touched the knob and Kakashi beckoned him in. "Hey, Naruto. Sit down, would you?"

Naruto sat in one of the squishy chairs, glancing between Jiraiya and Kakashi. "So what's up?"

"We just want to know--"

"We'd like to know a few things," Geshi cut in, appearing from an unnoticed corner of the room.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut. "Yeah, about what? There's a lot of things to know in the universe."

Geshi rolled her eyes at him and scowled. "Don't be a wise-ass, Naruto."

Naruto grinned cheekily. "Right. I'll just act like Sasuke, then."

Geshi's nostrils flared, but she pursed her lips and said nothing. Naruto leaned back, still grinning lopsidedly. "Heh."

Kakashi shook his head as Jiraiya guffawed. Massaging his temples, Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, be serious."

The orange-boy's smile faded and wobbled, but stayed on his face. "Okay, fine. So, really, what's up?" Kakashi's next sentence cleaned the smile right off his face.

"We want to know about Gaara and Shay."

-

**Author's Note: **So, sorry it took a while--give me a day or two and the next chapter of Convention Remix will be up, too. " Also, I need to ask BB for fogiveness early if she doesn't like the history I spin for Gaara and Shay. Oh, and why Shay's in Egypt. Eh heh heh... So, yeah. Longish chapter. Enjoy the update while you can before I make you wait another week. : P

Moriko: HAH! SEE?!

Me: **grabs baseball bat **Hockey schmokey, this'll work fine! C'MERE YOU!

**enter crazy and incredibly stupid chase scene here**

So, anway..." XD Yes, the 'jacket' problem...I couldn't resist. BWHAHAHAA! Run, Sasuke, run...

Hmmm, well, that's it for today...well, almost. BB, sorry I missed your birthday, so chill out a bit longer and I'll have your present ready, 'kay? Sweet. : D XD

Bye!

_Look. See Sasuke. See Sasuke run. Run, Sasuke, run. Now see Ino. See the foam dripping from her mouth. Chase, Ino, chase. Now see Sasuke hide. That's right, Sasuke. Hide like your life depends on it. Because it does. BWHAHAHAHAAA!!_


	4. Talking About You Somewhere

****

(PLEASE FORGIVE IT FOR BEING BOLDED. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON, BUT I'M TRYING TO FIX IT. ONCE AGAIN, SORRY!)

--

Disclaimer: My oh my what a wonderful day, I don't own this, zip ey dee day!

...Odd disclaimer. XD

So, yes--warning. THis chapter is going to be very short because I'm trying to cram in this, one chapter of WS, and about four chapters of Ask Bleach before three hours are up (my computer has time limits. -.-"). So, yeah. Very short. And I'm avoiding the Gaara/Shay topic at the moment, checking in with everyone else. shot OW!

...Ummm. yeah. I don't own anything except for Moriko--

Moriko: Yeah right!

--...Shay belongs to Bullet in the Brainpan Squish, and Geshi belongs to BluPiratePuppies. I have limited ownage over my brother, who is supplying me with the hockey terms. dignity has died xD And, oh yeah, ummmm...That's it. Chapter with Gaara and Shay will be up sometime this week, I swear to you.

...I hate it when summer vacation ends. DX

-

Hockey Nin

Kiba, no matter how loud and lazy, was a good hockey player. In fact, he was an excellent hockey player. As he was demonstrating now by deftly avoiding a pissed-off Sasuke.

"I told you I'd take the puck back!" he laughed, taking a sharp turn to avoid running into the plexi-glass wall. "Never drop your guard, mister right wing!"

"Dammit, Inuzuka!" Sasuke snarled. "Give it back!"

"Take it from me, chicken-butt hair!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he gripped his stick tighter. "You did not."

Kiba grinned incredulously. "Oh yes, I did."

"You die!" Sasuke roared, rocketing forward with a murderous look on his face. Kiba yelped and turned on the speed, making complicated turns and skidding around the goalie's net multiple times before he doubled back and did a figure eight around Neji, Sasuke hot on his heels.

Even though Kiba was laughing his head off, Neji was not amused. That may have had something to do with the fact that he was covered in spray from his companions' skates, or it may just have been his dislike of their attitude.

Quite possibly it was both, because he suddenly shouted, "Enough!", and stuck his stick out in the path of an oncoming Kiba.

"Arg!!" Kiba went flying, his stick flipping through the air as he slammed into the plexi-glass, dazed. The puck slid away towards Chouji again, unnoticed.

Sasuke glared at Neji. "What the Hel was that for?!"

Kiba, getting shakily to his feet, waited until he stopped seeing stars and snapped, "No kidding! Be happy you're on my team."

"Sorry," Neji snapped, ignoring the threat. "But doesn't anyone else feel worried about why Kakashi wants to speak with Naruto this early? He hasn't even had a chance to screw up yet."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "How do you know that? He turned Sasuke into a fugitive last night, and Kakashi always knows everything. I bet he'll just give Naruto a lecture and send him back down."

"Thanks for the reminder," Sasuke muttered. "I hope he gets down here soon so I can kick his ass."

"Haven't you tried yet? He did pick you up, right?"

"Yes..."

"Thwarted again, huh, Sasuke?" Kiba laughed at the venomous look on the Uchiha's face.

"Got to Hel," muttered Sasuke. Kiba slapped him on the back and winked cheekily.

"Already there, bud. Already there."

Neji scowled at them. "It's not funny. And if it were about last night then Kakashi wouldn't have bothered to call Naruto up to the office. He wouldn't just lectured him out here in front of us."

Sasuke shrugged irritably. "Yeah, I guess. That's definitely what he'd do, actually." He looked annoyed.

Kiba grinned craftily, seeing another chance for a ribbing. "Sounds to me like you've experienced it before, eh, Sasuke?"

"Do you want to die, Inuzuka?!"

"Is that threat or a promisssse?" Kiba replied in a singsong voice, ducking a swipe from Sasuke's stick and skating away, shouting, "Penalty, penalty! Sasuke's highsticking! Two minutes on the bench! Penalty!"

"That's it! Get back here!"

Neji sighed and rolled his eyes, seeing he would get nowhere with them. Having noticed that Chouji was following the conversation with interest, he glided over to join the goaltender.

"Do YOU think something's up?" Neji asked in a low voice, "Or is it just me?"

Chouji shrugged, his eyes following the path of Kiba and Sasuke as Shino and Sai came through the door. "I don't really know. But, if it is something like that, you know what it'll be about?"

Neji tilted his head to one side. "No, what?"

Another shrug. "THis is just a guess, but you know how Gaara suddenly got up and left the other night?"

"Yeah...Why?"

"I might've been mishearing things, but I think Geshi and Kakashi were talking about Shay."

Neji blinked, staring at Chouji. "Shay?" he whispered. "No one's seen her since highschool!"

"I know," Chouji said grimly. "Gaara was devastated when she disappeared. Nobody talks about her much anymore. It's a sensitive topic. I think that's why he got so moody."

"Meaning he won't be here today."

"Nope."

"Hmmmm," Neji muttered, thoughtful. "If that's the case, then that's definitely what Kakashi wants to talk to Naruto about."

"Probably."

Shikamaru has just appeared and was drifting towards them, watching Kiba and Sai pass back and forth to keep the puck away from Sasuke with a bored look on his face. Shino was just standing by the wall, watching everything.

"Hey, guys," he said, statement punctuated by a yawn. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Neji told him softly, running the facts through his head. "Nothing at all."

-

Blinking, Naruto took a deep breath.

"No."

"Why not?" Geshi demanded, eyebrows arching on her forehead.

"It's private."

"For who?"

"It's between Gaara and Shay," Naruto insisted. "It's none of my business to tell you. You'll just have to ask him."

"But he won't say anything," Geshi said, exasperated. "And it IS your business to tell us, Naruto."

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"Naruto," Kakashi intercepted, stopping an argument before it could form. "Please tell us. We need to know."

"You don't NEED to know anything!" Naruto shot back, fuming. "It is _none of your business_. Besides. Even if I WAS going to tell you, I would still have to ask Gaara first."

"Naru--"

"It's his call," Naruto said, crossing his arms stubbornly and slouching further in the chair. "Like it or not."

In the back, by the window, Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "You decide to have morals now, Naruto?"

"Yes."

Geshi sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. "Do you really have to ask permission?"

Naruto stuck out his chin and repeated, "Yes. Yes I do."

Geshi pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it over to him. "Then go ahead."

Looking at the cell phone in his hand, Naruto scowled. "Damn persistent people."

Reluctantly, he flipped open the phone and started to dial.

-

A few miles away, in his apartment, Gaara was sitting up on his perfectly made bed. When he had finally fallen asleep last night, it had been with clothes on and on top of the covers. The rings around his eyes seemed darker then ever as he stared moodily at the floor, contemplating his sneakers.

_Shay's coming back._

Gaara sighed heavily and stood up, staring out the window at the heavy gray clouds that seemed to match his mood. _It might rain today. _

He smirked. _How fitting._

Another sigh, and Gaara turned to descend the stairs. He was hungry. Because he had left the party so early he had barely eaten anything the night before. It was now nine in the morning and he had been awake for half and hour without breakfast. _Maybe i;ll just have a muffin or something._

_Shay likes muffins._

Gaara scowled at nothing in particular. Apparently it was going to be a bad day.

_Brrriiiing! Brrrriiinnng! Buh-riiiinnnnggg!_

His house phone was ringing. _Who on earth...?? _Turning back to his room, Gaara picked up the wireless sitting on his nightstand and glanced at the number. _It's Geshi's cell phone. What the heck?_

After weighing the phone in his hand for a moment more, he pressed the talk button and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

'Gaara? You sound terrible,' the voice on the other end of the line said. Gaara stared at the phone incredulously. 'Hello? Dude, you still there?'

"Naruto, why are you on Geshi's phone?"

'Um, yeah, about that...Erm...'

"Spit it out, Naruto. I was about to go get breakfast."

'Oh, well...nevermind, then. Did you get any sleep at ALL last night? You're really hoarse.'

"I got plenty of sleep," Gaara lied, finger inching towards the 'end call' button. "What do you want?"

'Oh, um...I was just going to ask if you would be at practice today, that's all.'

Gaara rolled his eyes. "You're asking me this on Geshi's cell phone?"

'Eh...mine died. Forgot to charge it last night, I guess...'

"Yeah. Whatever."

'Well...I'll see you later, then.'

"Uh-huh."

'But don't you dare think about skipping practice tomorrow too, Sandy!' The fake bravado in Naruto's voice was just sickening. Gaara felt his appetite shrink. 'We have a game this weekend--no procrastinating crap, alright?'

"If the migraine dissolves, I'll be there. Can I go eat now?" Lots of sarcasm. Gaara didn't always use sarcasm.

'...Yeah. Bye.'

"Bye." _Bleep. Call ended. Would you like to call again?_

_No, _Gaara thought, tossing the phone back onto his bedspread and heading down the stairs. _No thank you._

-

Naruto flipped the cell closed. Geshi was looking at him oddly.

"Nothing?"

Naruto shook his head. "I couldn't bring myself to ask."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Will you tell us?"

Squirming uncomfortably, Naruto nodded. "Fine. But no one else hears a word of this, got it?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," muttered Jiraiya. Geshi glared at him, but nodded at Naruto.

"We promise."

Heaving a sigh, Naruto sat back in his chair. "Okay then."

-

Far away, somewhere in Egypt, a girl sneezed. Her companion glanced at her.

"Sneeze you," Kani said, passing her friend a tissue.

"Thanks, I don't know why...Ah-choo!"

"Sneeze you," Kani repeated, grabbing more tissues.

"Y-yeah..Ah-CHOO!"

"Dear gods!" Kani exclaimed, "That probably scared people in America!"

Glare. "Yes, Kani. My sneezes are so loud that people in America can hear me. Just give that box, would you?"

"Uh-huh. Catch."

_"Woof!"_

"Hey! Shu, give it back!"

Kani burst out laughing. "Wow. Didn't know Shu could jump so high."

"Oh, shut up..."

Kani raised an eyebrow. "Don't so sulky. You know why you sneezed, right?"

"Enlighten me."

"Somebody's talking about you somewhere." The way she said it, it must've been a statement of fact.

Shay rolled her eyes. "Right, Kani," she said, finally wresting the tissue box away from Shu, her dog. "Who on earth would talk about me?"

-

Author's Note: Sooo...Short, very vague, rather pointless chapter. Sorry! DX Bear with me, everything will be revealed sometime this week...if 9th grade doesn't kill me first. -.-"

Um...bye!

Moriko: I didn't get any lines! DX

(BB, tell me if Shay was out of character. Same to you, ne-chan. Oh, and BB, I'll send you and email about the history between Gaara and Shay, but I won't get it for a while. My internet server won't connect with Yahoo. -.-" So I have to wiat until a laptop is free to use. If you've sent me anything recently, i haven't gotten it yet. -.-" Sorry!)


	5. Getting on Track?

**Disclaimer:** Disclaimers can go to Hel. I don't own anything.

Moriko: Got that right. It's been over a month!

Me: You can go to Hel too, Mori.

Moriko: Already there, Swirl.

Me: Bite me.

Hockey Nin

"Shay and Gaara loved each other," Naruto said flatly. He received little more reaction than Kakashi motioning him to continue. He nodded reluctantly and went on... "Both their child hoods sucked--"

Geshi interrupted him, "When you say, 'loved each other', do you mean it in that tense?"

Naruto looked up at her, blinked. "Eh? What tense?"

"Past tense," Geshi urged, willing him to answer clearly. To her relief, he slowly nodded.

"Well, I guess," he said, choosing his words carefully, "I don't mean, 'he doesn't love her anymore', because I'm positive he does, even if he'll never show it in a million years..."He shook his head, shaggy hair bouncing. "And, that, well, that's just kinda because none of use have even spoke Shay's name since she left the hospital...left Gaara." He amended the last part--Shay had left without warning, and had lied, telling them all she would be leaving a week later than she actually did. As of yet, no one quite knew why.

Geshi nodded slowly. Kakashi said, "Go on."

"Er, right. Well, yeah...Gaara's father tried to have him killed plenty of times...he was put in jail after breaking the restraining order when Gaara came into foster care under Baki, and Temari and Kankuro were put with him. Eventually, it just was kind of assumed that Baki had adopted them, and I think he has, considering they lived with him for a while until Temari, then Kankuro and Gaara each went off to college. Gaara and Kankuro were in the same year, because Gaara skipped a grade. In the middle of his time at Suna Tech, he took off for a year, and graduated after Kankuro..."

"We know all this," muttered Jiraiya, "Stick to the story, Naruto."

Naruto sighed. "I don't want to be telling you this! It's private. None of your business..."

He trailed off, and Geshi raised an eyebrow. Kakashi didn't nothing but watch him expectingly, and Naruto sighed again, muttered about teachers being pushy, and went on with his tale.

"Uh, yeah. So...Shay disappeared before that. That's kinda it." He stood. "There. Can I go now?"

Kakashi eyed him, then leaned back in his chair. "You're a bad liar, Naruto. You can leave if you want, but if Gaara goes to pieces because no one tells us so we can help him, it's on your conscious."

Naruto scowled. "Damn deceptive old man." He sat back down again.

Kakashi looked at him balefully. "I'm not that old," he muttered, "It's just the hair!"

Geshi smothered a grin, then put on her 'do-what-I-say-this-minute-or-else' expression and gave Naruto the full blast of it. "Please continue, Naruto."

"Like I have a choice," he muttered mutinously, fidgeting to attempt and get comfortably in the big, sagging office chair. To amuse himself, he spun the chair in circles on it's wheels until Kakashi gave him a warning cough. He stopped and stared at the ceiling.

"Look. The thing with Shay...she has to trust you to let you know anything. You asked me about what was between Gaara and her, and I told you. Sorry, but I'm not saying anything else. He stood again, eyes resolute in his decision. "I need to get back to the rink before Neji comes up here and strangles me. See ya."

As a parting comment, Jiraiya said, grinning evilly, "Oh, Neji has more reasons than lost practice time to kill ya, Naruto."

Naruto shot him a glare and closed the door to Jiraiya's coarse laughter.

-

On the ice, Neji and Shikamaru were tactfully keeping kiba and Sasuke away from each other, and Kankuro had joined them, looking somber. Sai, Shino, and Lee were coming through the door just now. Naruto retied his skate laces for the thousandth time, then kicked them off in exasperation. He shouldn't feel guilty. It was true. Shay's history was nothing to them yet, right? Right...

Right?

Suddenly, he looked up, feeling a shadow fall across him. He blinked. "What're you doing here--"

"Shhhh!" she hissed, grabbing him by the elbow and yanking him up the stairs. "Shut up! Gods, now I have to tell them about Shay! For the love of pocky, Naruto!"

"Eh...Pocky?"

"Just keep moving! You're telling them with me, dammit."

"Gods, who pissed in your shoes this morning?"

"Republicans. Now MOVE!"

Kakashi and Geshi and Jiraiya were all thoughtful. Kakashi's eyes seemed unfocused and broody, while Geshi's traced patterns on the wall. Call Naruto back up and make him confess? Yes? No? All very confusing.

Jiraiya sighed and was about to speak when there was a savage knock on the door. He looked bewildered. "Who in the--?"

"Open. The. Door. Dammit, Geshi, Kakashi-sensei, I know you're in there!"

"Eh, I'm pretty sure it's unlocked..."

"I know it's unlocked!"

"Then why are you knocking and telling them to open up?"

"GODS DAMN IT!"

"Hey--ahhh!!"

Naruto came flying through the door as it was kicked open, slamming against the wall it was bolted to with a loud bang! and turning to swing absently on it's hinges. The girl in the doorway kicked it angrily again and and glared at them all balefully, her eyes glinting in the light coming through the closed blinds.

Without preamble, Moriko stormed into the room.

-

The hotel room was surprisingly clean, would have thought anyone who knew either of the two girls who were each packing the last things haphazardly into their suitcases.

"Woof!"

"Ar-ar-arf!"

"Hush!" shouted Kani, straining to be heard over the clamoring racket of the two dogs. Neither of the canines listened to her, continuing to leap about. "HUSH!"

"OI!" screamed her companion, sighing and rolling her eyes when that didn't work. "Shu! Sit, Shu! SHU!"

"Mikan, SHUT. UP!" ejaculated Kani, effectively raising her voice louder than the dogs (and giving the people downstairs a heart attack). The barking only grew louder, and she cried out in exasperation.

As one, she and Shay hollered, "QUIETTTT!!"

The dogs stopped immediately and stared at them. Mikan cocked her head, and Shu woofed in a bewildered way. It seemed they were both asking the same thing--"What'd'ya have to be so loud for, guys?"

Kani's eyebrow twitched, but then she smiled. "Sheesh. I thought you guys would be used to seeing a camel walk by!" She laughed good naturedly.

Blowing a strand of hair from her face, Shay grinned as well. "Huh. I'M not used to a camel walking past yet."

She and Kani looked at each other, with grave faces, and then burst out laughing.

After a few minutes, after the giggles subsided, Shay sneezed. Perplexed, Kani tossed her the tissue box again--careful to throw it higher than eight feet, so the dogs watched it's ark with interest. "Gods, Shay. Glad to have you as a roomy, and all, but if you get me sick I won't be thrilled."

"No kidding," Shay muttered, blowing her nose noisily so that the dogs' ears pricked up and they stared at her. With a quiet chuckle, she told them, "Don't worry. I'm clean. Just someone talking about me."

"Hmmm," murmured Kani, "That seems to be happening a lot recently."

"Ya' think?"

"Woooof!"

"ARF!"

"Not again!"

"Mikan! Shu! For the gods' sakes, shut up!"

But the dogs weren't barking at a camel this time. This time, they each felt something wrong. But, as humans at large sadly do not speak Canus, the girls had no way of knowing this.

In America, a few secrets were about to come out.

-

Moriko stomped in, grabbed Naruto by the back of his jersey as he tried to stand up from where he had gone sprawling on the floor, and she dumped him unceremoniously into the squishy office chair.

"I'll tell you about Shay," she snapped, "But only if you promise to keep your bloody traps SHUT! Understand?!"

Bewildered, they stared at her. Geshi slowly nodded. Why Moriko was acting so oddly, they couldn't guess, but here came the truth at last.

"We promise."

-

**Author's Note:** More deliberating! Yayyyy!

...Don't shoot me. Next update, tomorrow, Monday at latest. I swear. XP

Moriko: I NEED AN ASPRIN!

Me: O,O" -edges away-


	6. Broken Stick

**Disclaimer: **Another disclaimer bites the dust! Or, I do, since I own nothing...not even the fake lyrics used in this disclaimer!? That's messed up. DX

Moriko: You're readers won't get a chance to shoot you, Swirly.

Me: Death by guns never appealed to me. -gets sword- EN GAURDE!

Gothica: You spelled that wrong, Swirly.

Me: I KNOW!

Naruto: -.-"

-

Hockey Nin

The dark, angrily glinting brown eyes of Moriko glanced at each face in the room, glaring first at Jiraiya, then Naruto and Kakashi and Geshi. She started in a low, serious tone:

"What I tell you? Yeah, it _will be kept confidential until absolutely necessary_. No one outside of this room who does not already know the unfolding of events will hear a word of this."

It was not a question. The heavy, oppressive silence in the room told Moriko they had all agreed with her, and she nodded once, thoughtful.

She sighed, and some of the anger seemed to deflate out of her. "Eh, I really shouldn't be taking out my pissed-off-ed-ness on you guys, but..." SHe shrugged once, noncommittal, and the rest of the ire seemed to vanish. "I'm kind of vain, really. I, ah, I like an audience sometimes." Suddenly, she grinned crookedly. "Of course, the fact that I've been reading a lot of books starring Hercule Poirot recently hasn't helped."

Jiraiya broke in, shattering the spell of silence in the audience. "Yes, yes, that's all fine," he growled gruffly, "But what is it that you're here to say, Mori?"

She chuckled wanly. "What beans I'm here to spill, you mean?"

"Yes, fine. You can put it that way. Just, out with it!" Jiraiya's face looked expectant and slightly irritated at all this delay over nothing. Geshi, Naruto, and Kakashi looked from him to moriko, who nodded slowly again.

"Yes," she murmured meditatively, "Yes, I'l tell you than...As near to the truth as I can recall. Okay?"

They nodded. Naruto cleared his throat. "Er, Moriko? If Shay ever finds out, you're kind of screwed. Would you rather me tell them? I mean, she can't kill me..." he tried to smile. "...Too many bodyguards for her to kill a famous hockey player."

Eye roll. "Bodyguards? Yeah, right."

"Then don't blame me if she skins you," muttered Naruto, "And don't thank me when i save you, either."

"Dually noted. Now, will you allow me to tell the adult units, or not?"

Long and hard, Naruto stared at each of the elder people in the room. Finally, he bobbed his head and said gruffly, "If you must."

Moriko flashed a brief, wry smile at him and began her narrative.

"Shay and Gaara are both from a different place than Konoha--they're from Kumo. Gaara's life sucked, sure, and...so did Shay's." She glanced quickly at her listeners to make sure they were paying attention--and to reinforce the statement that the whole thing was confidential. She inhaled through her nose and continued, "Shay lived with her father for a while, just them, after her mother died..." She pursed her lips and corrected herself, "No, not died. Killed herself."

Jiraiya shifted where he leaned against the wall by the window, but other than that, the only thing to show that could be counted as a reaction among the adults was a darkening in Geshi's eyes, and a slow blink out of Kakashi. Naruto, who had known all of this already, ground his teeth and his nostrils flared. Moriko hardly paused.

"She--Shay's mother--poured gasoline over herself...and lit a match..." Now, she did pause, grimaced. There was a sharp intake of breath from someone in the room, but from whom it was hard to tell. As if trying to shove the details away, Moriko waved a hand empathetically and resumed, her hands moving in a flurry along with her words in a way typical to her Italian blood. "...I won't go into details. But, for a while, the...body..." another grimace, another spasm of movement from her hands, "...was always lying there...And it happened right in front of Shay."

This time, someone hissed, loud, low, and long through there teeth. When it stopped, Moriko waited another moment and went on. There were no other interruptions for a time.

"She hates fire, you know, even to this day. She'll freeze, and unless it's put out or Gaara is there...eh, she just won't thaw again. We all have our demons..."

"...You know Temari. Well, Temari does not approve of Shay. In fact, you might almost say that Temari was happy when shay vanished...even though it made Gaara very sad. He was depressed for weeks...Well, that's a very underestimated calculation, but you understand."

"Erm, you know how Gaara...well, you've heard of a time when he had...a few important screws loose? Ah, you have. Good. Well, Shay DOES have a few loose, but in a different way. The reason Temari doesn't exactly...eh, enjoy Shay's companionship with Gaara is...She's worried that Gaara will revert to being the way he was if he stays around her." She shrugged half-heartedly. "It's a theory I look down on myself, and I think she's really being too hard on Shay, but...?" She shook her head and murmured, "What can you do?"

Sighing helplessly, Naruto held out his hands to show he had no idea. Geshi, Kakashi, and Jiraiya showed no change, kept their faces blank.

The brown eyes flitted across them each momentarily, deciphering what they might be thinking in whatever way she did. She murmured softly, "...But no matter how hard any of them tried to do anything about it, it didn't stop Shay from getting a car crash...then a coma...and they out of town."

Geshi interposed, saying quietly in a matter-of-fact, sympathetic voice, "It wasn't really an accident, was it, Mori?"

Slowly, her question was met with a shake of the head, another helpless shrug of the shoulders. Then, Naruto was the one who continued the tale...

"Nah. 'Course it wasn't really an accident. But that's what the police put it down too, that's what witnesses claimed it to be, and that's what we told everyone it was--" he let out a huff of breath "--even though we were lying in the extreme...Shay had been staying over with some friends of hers, including Mori. She hadn't seen her father for weeks, and that was the way she liked it. Apparently he was drunk, driving in his car...he recognized her license plate as he was directly behind her in the lane. On some kind of impulse, he rammed his front bumper into her car, swerved to the right of her, and drove her forcefully into the sheet of rock on the side of the road."

"That's worse than drunk," Kakashi said under his breath. Unseen to everyone else, his hands clenched momentarily before relaxing again. "That's purely mindless. Who the Hel is this man?"

"Dead," said Mori flatly, "That's who he is. The bastard's dead."

"And may he stay that way," snarled Naruto. He stood up abruptly. "Moriko, that's the whole story, isn't it? Or am I forgetting something?"

After a moment of looking at him steadily, Moriko shook her head again. "Nah. That's it. You're right..." she flashed a brief, wan smile at the adults in the room, held the door open as Naruto stormed out of the room, and looked back over her shoulder once. "The next time you hear from Kani," she told Kakashi and Geshi, "Tell me, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, she closed the door behind her.

And no one at all noticed the small, hunched over figure who had been holding her breath around the corner disappear down the stairway.

-

Naruto's skate's hit the ice with a BAM! as he jumped into the rink (a very stupid thing to do). Mercilessly, he joined his teammates in their drills, smacking Shikamaru's stick out of the way without warning, driving the puck with furious smacks from his stick down the ice. He didn't register the bewildered shouts and exclamations from behind him as his skates carved thin lines on the ice and he fired the puck like a catapult down the line.

Chouji didn't really have much of a chance to save it in the first place, and he hit the ice with an 'umpf' as it sailed past his outstretched stick and rattled the netting.

Naruto swung to a halt, spraying slush over Chouji, panting with wild eyes as he glared at the harmless thing sitting in the back of the net with a ferocity. His head jerked up as a ball of slush hit him on the back of the helmet. He snarled, then stopped as another splattered against his face (he'd left his helmet guard up).

"Oi, you jerk!" shouted Kiba, shaking his stick threateningly with another ball of slush in his right hand ready for use. "What the Hel was that for? You nearly sent Shikamaru flat on his face when you hooked his stick like that! Do that in a game and you're on the bench...What's the matter with you?

Sasuke growled and added, "And what the friggin' Hel took you so long up there, anyway?"

Naruto snapped out at them, "None of your damn business!"

They must've looked a but more than shocked at the furious edge to his ton,e because Naruto blinked and immediately backed up. "Sorry, guys," he muttered gruffly. "I have not had a fun morning."

"I gathered," Sasuke put in dryly.

"You can at least explain," threw in Kiba, letting the slush ball splatter back over the ice.

But the captain shook his head. "No, I can't right now. Maybe later. Sorry, guys."

"Apologize to Chouji and me," grumped Shikamaru, gliding to a stop in front of them. He inspected his stick with seeming carelessness, but anyone on the team could see the way his eyes roved over every inch of wood anxiously. Even to Shikamaru, what's a hockey player with a damaged stick?

"Er, yeah..." Naruto had taken his helmet off, and was now scratching the back of his head and looking to the ceiling in a self-conscious way. "Sorry, you two," he apologized. Attempting a smile, he stuck out a hand to Chouji. "Need any help, goalie-man?"

Chouji shook his head and pushed himself up with his stick. "No, thanks, Naruto. I get it. It would've been worse if you'd kept angry like that for the rest of the day instead of spending it all at once."

Shrugging half-heartedly, Naruto said, "Yeah, you're right," and turned around again at an exclamation of dismay from Shikamaru.

"Urg, you idiot," he groaned, clutching his stick tightly. "You nearly broke the damn thing clean off! Our game is _tomorrow_. I play the Gangmen with this and we're screwed."

"Giving yourself a nice high place on the team, lazybones," muttered Kankuro, who was in an especially bad mood since Gaara had, true to certain predictions, not shown up.

Shino stole quietly onto the scene and weighed the broken stick thoughtfully. Finally, not seeming to notice all eyes on him (Shino had that effect when he made himself known), he returned it Shikamaru, saying, "It's a fracture. The end of the stick would snap off immediately if you tried to hit the puck with any decent amount of force. I suggest you go to the store immediately and buy yourself a new one. Don't bother to have it repaired. Why do I say this? Because even if you had it fixed, it would still be too weak to last much longer than a few minutes against any team at all."

And, wisdom given out for the day, Shino slipped out of the crowd of players that had assembled and quietly picked up into his drills again.

Shikamaru sighed (which was nothing new, but you understand). Curling his hand carefully along the splintery crack along the length of the stick, he shrugged and flashed his teammates a bored smile. "Ah, I'd need a new one soon anyway. Thanks a bunch, Naruto."

"Happy to be of service," Naruto grumbled. "Now go get a new one of those, and don't come back until you do!" he added in a mock threatening voice, shaking his own stick at Shikamaru.

Kiba pounced immediately. "High-sticking!" he called out again, snatching the puck out of Chouji's gloves with a nod of thanks and shooting to the other end of the rink. "Two minutes for high-sticking, Naruto! The captain was high-sticking again! Ref!"

"Go to Hel, Kiba!" Naruto shouted, shoving off and circling around kiba to steal the puck. "You lousy excuse for an offense!"

The taunt worked. With a scowl, Kiba immediately raised his stick. Naruto grinned and laughed. Kiba, realizing the setup, slammed Naruto against the plexiglass. Sasuke and Neji stepped in to break it up, and for the rest of the practice things went along closer to normal than anyone might've expected.

So it was that a few hours later, gear in a bag over his shoulder after having examined Shikamaru's new stick, Naruto swaggered out of the locker-room with a small grin on his face. Moriko was no where to be found, as she had left soon after speaking of Shay. Sasuke was still in the locker-room, changing out of his gear. Alone and hungry, Naruto pondered where to go to eat the night before the game.

Lost in thought, as he rounded a bend in the hallway, he didn't notice the person he was about to run into.

"What the--oompf!"

"S-sorry, Naruto-kun!"

Blinking and coming out of his daze, Naruto stared bewilderedly at his other victim of the collision. "Oh, it's you, Hinata. Sorry about that. My fault."

She looked down at the floor, murmuring softly, "No, no, I-I'm sure you were thinking about something important..."

But naruto just shrugged and bent to pick up the paperback books she had dropped. Piling them gallantly, he returned them to her with a flourish. "Your literature, Madame!"

Taking the books back from him, she smiled a tiny smile and raised her eyes. "It's 'mademoiselle', Naruto-kun."

"Eh?"

"I'm too young--and single--to be called 'madame'."

"Oh." He blinked. "You speak French."

She looked down again. "Er, n-not really...I only took a few classes in high school..."

"So you do speak it."

"W-Well, not exactly..."

He laughed heartily. She looked at him, startled. He smiled apologetically again and then paused, thinking of something. "Hey, Hinata."

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Do you know where I should go for dinner tonight?"

The question was so unexpected, she stared. She recovered herself, "Er, uh, I th-think that that little place Sakura-san took us all too the other night was nice..."

Naruto grinned. "That's right! Ichiraku! Why didn't I think of that?" He nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Hinata! Hey, you'll be at the game tomorrow, right?"

She blinked, then managed to gasp out, "Of course!"

He smiled, nodded again, and breezed out the door. She stood in the vacant hallway, looking after him, biting her lip.

Should she have told him? Maybe it would've been smarter. Maybe...

No! Hinata shook her head violently and made up her mind. Now was not the right time...In fact, she may never need to tell him that she had been listening earlier that morning...It wasn't eavesdropping, anyway! It was just...kind of by accident, and the wood to those doors was hollow and easy to hear through...

Maybe, though, to tell him what she knew that he evidently did not would be a good thing...Later. She would tell him later. If Hyuuga Hinata was a good judge of anything, it was the right time for things.

She bundled her stack of paperbacks under her arms and continued on her way, trying to push down the feeling of doubt and guilt with thoughts of the hockey game that was only a night away.

It WAS an important game, after all.

The first game of the official season, now that the preseason was over.

That's right, Hinata suddenly realized, and the thought almost made her drop her books again. Because tomorrow was also the day that Kani and Shay would be returning from Egypt.

-

**Author's Note: **So...Arrival of Kani and Shay plus First Game of the Season equals what, my dear readers?

ACTION! DEE DA LI DAH DEEE!! --enter batman theme again-

...Eh, yeah...Hope that makes up a little bit for the jack-assed-ness of the over past few updates. -shrugs- And, if not, bite me.

...Just kidding. Eh, I have other stuff to update...and another convention this weekend...

Crap. Hey, I hope those of you who read Convention Remix won't mind if I finish it before the end of the month and delay updates on everything else for a while. But I want to make a Con-Remix story for every con I go to (or at least the best/ most of the ones i go to) and before I start another story of ANYTHING I want to finish SOMETHING that I have up already...WLaS is close to being done, kind of...buncha fights planned, dramatic revealings, and I might even let you people know some of those ghastly secrets being kept in the world of the fic! : D Now, wouldn't that just mark the end of the world, eh? XD

Oh, yes, and as to the reference to Agatha Christie's character Hercule Poirot (pronounced Air-cule Pwuh-row), I think that if I mention my obsession with those books one more time my sister will skin me alive. O,O"

Poirot: And then you wish I were a real detective, mon ami! So as to avenge your death on your sister, because even you have a grudging streak. Is that not so?

Me: SEE!? He's a freaking psychic!

Ani: -.-" No, he's a private eye. They're paid to know everything.

Gothica: Swirly? A grudging streak? NOOOOOOO, REALLY?!

Splode: Sarcasm! XD

Me: Jerks. **-wanders off to go find my book again...and a nice cup of hot tea...and some chocolate...oh yeah. great way to end a Thorsday, eh?-**

Eh...bye!

P.S. Yes, I said 'Thorsday'. That's because (1) I'm Nordic, and (2), 'Thursday' was originally named after Thor, the god of thunder who wields the hammer that is the defense of Asgard.

Thank you and have a nice day.

...This had been random lessons with Swirly! XD


	7. Opening Game

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, the Washington Capitals, the NHL, or the NHL.

Splode: ...Two NHLs...?

Me: Yep. One stands for "National Hockey League", the other stands for "Ninja Hockey League".

Moriko: Clever.

Gothica: Not so much.

Me: **sweatdrop**

---

Hockey Nin

Game day. First game of the season. No mercy.

"No mercy," muttered Naruto to himself as he tightened his skates for morning practice. "Gotta kick those Gangmen back to the pond they crawled out of. They aren't hockey players, they're a bunch of thugs. I--we--can outskate them any day. No mercy."

With a long huff of breath, he joined his team on the ice.

---

A plane roared overhead Geshi's car, and she peered up at it in an attempt to see which airline it was. She scowled to herself, muttering about glasses and contacts. The bluish dog at her side barked, following the descending plane with his eyes. Geshi patted his head.

"Yeah, Taikai, I think that's her plane," she told the dog, "but I can hardly see which airline it is. We'll find out in a few minutes, I guess."

The dog snuffled in agreement, and they waited.

Twenty minutes later, a pair of girls with a pair of dogs could be seen exiting the automatic front doors of the airport.

Geshi smiled and waved. "Kani! Kani! Shay! Over here!"

Kani, spotting her mom, turned in the direction of the car. Shay followed, wondering why this woman knew her name. Geshi introduced herself and there were greetings all around. The dogs barked and yipped and sniffed each other in welcome as the three women somehow made all the luggage fit in the trunk. Getting the dogs wedged in with the girls and Geshi and Taikai upfront, the little car backed carefully out of the parking space and sped onto the highway. Laughing at the sight of a smart-car between two large trucks, the group was all smiles. After a few minutes of catching up with recent events, weather, and trends, Kani leaned forward.

"Mom, where are we going? This isn't the way to the house."

"We're heading into the city."

Shay frowned. "Why?"

Geshi glanced at her in the mirror. "We're going to watch the hockey game. It's the first of the season, you know."

Shay smiled. "Oh, cool! We going to a party, or something? Do they have a big TV? Hi-def?"

Geshi sped up slightly to make the red-light. "No, not exactly. We're going to the ice rink. We've got very good seats, y'know. And we'll get to congratulate the players afterwards."

"Epic!" grinned Shay. "Who's on the team? Anyone famous?"

Geshi winced. "Not really. The Kitsunes...please don't repeat this, but they suck. One of the worst in the league."

"Ouch. They can't be that bad," said Kani. Geshi groaned.

"Are you kidding? We're the Konoha Legendaries of hockey!"

Shay burst out laughing, and Kani made a sympthetic noise. The Konoha Legendaries was the country's major league baseball team, and were notorious for being at the bottom of the stack. To be compared to them was to be spat upon, trampled, and laughed at. Geshi fixed the two with a mock-serious glare.

"Swear you'll never repeat that."

Solemnly, the two sweared they would never tell a soul.

Geshi grinned. "So, no. No one you've heard of, Shay."

Shay shrugged. "Eh, y'never know. Try me."

"Okay, let's see...Our captain, Uzumaki Naruto..."

"The one who was an orphan until people found out he was descended from that super rich famous guy, the president who had played hockey?"

"Yeah, him. The Yondaime Cup is named after Naruto's dad."

"Cool. Anyone else?"

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

"Never heard of him," Shay said flaltly. Kani laughed.

"He'd be hurt to hear you say that. He has a big head." Geshi grinned and went on. "Hyuuga Neji...Inuzuka Kiba..."

"Oh!" Kani shouted, making Shu, Mikan, and Taikai look up. "I know that name! Inuzuka? Ninja Dog Kennels has got to be one of the most famous breeders in the world!"

"I know, right? You can't go to a single show without seeing one of their dogs competing! And the judges love them! Gods, they're taking over!"

Shay raised an eyebrow. "Uh...we were talking about hockey?"

"Hm?" Geshi blinked, getting back on topic. "Oh, right. Well, there's Aburame Shino--"

"Isn't his dad one of experts on why bees are dissapearing? Hive Collapse Syndrome or something like that?"

"Yeah, that's him. Although I hear they work more with beetles and flies and bugs like that."

Shay shrugged. "Whatever. Anyone else?"

Geshi looked hard at Shay in the mirror. "...Nah, probably not. You'll hear their names later, at the game, anyway."

Kani and Shay nodded. "Okay."

---

Practice. Practice. Practice.

"Kiba, you need to be ready to clear the puck if they get it past Neji, 'ttebayo, okay?"

"Yeah, I gotcha!"

"Dammit, dobe, your wristshot sucks! Can't you fix it before tonight?"

"Go to Hel, Teme! I don't see you with a magnificent slapshot!"

"My slapshot is perfect!"

"Bull!"

"Shaddup and skate!" roared Kankuro, deftly intercepting a pass from Neji and sending it down the line towards Chouji, who pounced on it almost immeidietely. Neji scowled at him.

"That's an icing call. You should have passed it to Shikamaru first."

"Icing? No one get's benched for that. And Nara was behind you, anyway. I'm not passing it to him."

"Fine, I'll move if you'll stop arguing," muttered Shikamaru, irate. "But signal me or something, would you?"

"Fine."

"Heads up!" Naruto shot past them, parrying attempts from Neji and Kiba and flicking the stick to send the puck sailing. He flashed a leer at Sasuke. "Sucky wristshot my ass!"

"I'm gonna shove something up your ass, alright," muttered Sasuke.

"You're doin' good, boys!" Called Jiraiya from the box. "Keep it up and let's win tonight, eh?"

Practice, practice, practice.

No mercy.

---

7:00 p.m. in Konoha. A small swarm of people in orange and black jerseys are talking and eating and making their way to the Kyuubi Center. Not a large amount of fans, but enough. It was game time.

Mixed among the mass of orange and yellow were the occasional spots of gray and navy blue--Gangmen fans. In fact, too many Gangmen fans for comfort. A grumble of dislike rippled through the Kitsune diehards, and only the watchful eyes of the Center's security force stopped a fight from breaking out.

After all, they were hockey fans. You had to be ready for anything.

---

7:15 p.m. in the Kyuubi Center. Geshi, Kani, and Shay take their seats and munch on their food. In a few minutes, a tall man with silver hair joins them.

"Hello, strangers. Mind if I sit?"

Geshi and Kani smiled. Kani grinned. "Sit down, Dad. You're embarrassing me."

Kakashi hummed to himself. "We're in a hockey rink. No one here is going to notice anything if it's not on the ice."

"Very true," nodded Geshi firmly.

Shay and Kakashi swapped introductions, and Kakashi's eye narrowed. So this was Shay. He glanced at Geshi, who shook her head imperceptibly. Gaara had not been mentioned. Just as well, Kakashi thought, pursing his lips. The red-head had been AWOL from practice and had only shown up today. Jiraiya had pulled him from the game. And even if he hadn't, the likeliest outcome was the same.

Diaster.

---

7:29 p.m. in the commentator's box. Sarutobi Asuma and Maito Gai sat in their seats and started the evening.

"Hello, Kitsune fans!" said Gai into the microphone. "Are you ready for the first game of the season, right here in our youthful Konoha?"

The crowd roared. Only about half the seats were filled, but the response was loud. Gai smiled. "Alright! In just a moment the lights will dim, the music will start, and here they come...your Konohaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa _KITSUNEEEESSS!!!_"

Lights played across the ice as the players poured out. Only a moment before, the Gangmen had appeared to boos and jeers. Now, roars and chants and screams of adoration ripped the chilly air as the Kitsunes did a lap of the rink and took up their positions.

"Tonight in the starting line-up, number 16, Uchihaaaaaaaaaa SASUKE!!!"

Fangirls across the rink screamed.

"Number 13, Naaaraaaaa SHIKAMARU!"

A buzz of assent that was entirely fitting rippled through the crowd.

"Number 12, Inuzukaaaaaa KIBA!"

More fangirls howled. In the row beneath Kakashi and company, Moriko winced and plugged her ears. _Damn fangirls_, she thought with menace.

"Number 6, Hyuuugaaa...NEJI!" Gai went on, Asuma playing with the sound effects and music as each player came out. A row of people wearing wigs did the wave as Neji came out. Hinata, having settled in quietly beside Moriko, Sakura, and Ino, hid a giggle. She knew her cousin had his long hair tied into a tight bun under his helmet.

"And here he comes, the Kitsune's captain, number 9, Uzumaaakiiiiii..._NARUTO!!!"_

Dust fell from the rafters as the crowd exploded. Gai finished with, "And in the goal, number 3, Akimichiiiii...CHOUJI!"

Another round of cheers as Chouji tapped the ice with his stick, and then everyone fell silent for the national anthem, sung by a pretty girl with a calm voice. On the line of "and the wolves shall all howl", the crowd all barked like a dog. Not the most convenient of tributes, but it was the closest to foxes they could get.

The lights went up, people sat in their seats settled in for the game.

Naruto nodded to ref, coming up for the drop and squaring off against the Gangmen's forward. For a moment, Naruto stared. This kid couldn't even be his age! With that fragile, pale face, his opponent almost looked like a girl.

_Number 88, that Haku kid, _Naruto thought, the hours of preparing for the Gangmen's lineup coming back to him. _Fresh outta college. Supposed to be fast. _He tensed as the ref held the puck out between him and Haku. A malicious thought filtered through Naruto's brain, _Fast, but not tough._

The puck fell...

It hit the ice with a small _twap_, followed by a loud series of thwacks as Naruto and Haku each strained to get the puck away from the other. Naruto flicked Haku's stick away and flipped the puck back to Kiba, and his eyes bulged as Haku dipped around him and deftly stole it back.

The crowd booed.

Kiba snarled and swerved, trying to force the kid into the wall. Haku turned, keeping his back to Kiba, and bounced the puck off the wall to meet the stick of his teammate--

"Caught on a superb pass from Haku by number 7, infamous veteran Momochi Zabuza," Gai narrated, hiding a wince as said veteran mercilessly smacked into Sasuke.

The crowd howled with indignation, screaming for a call. The zebras looked at each other, but let it be.

"And no foul will be called as Uchiha gets back to his feet and cuts across to scrap with Momochi." Gai raised his voice a second later, "Uchiha gets it away from Momochi to be picked up by Hyuuga, who passes off to Nara...And Momochi smashes Nara! He's lining up for a shot--deflected by Akimichi!"

A roar of approval went up as Naruto appeared around the back of the goal and snatched away the puck, passing to Sasuke, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Hyuuga, and back to Sasuke before Zabuza introduced him to the plexiglass.

"We can see why Momochi is known for his ruthlessness on the ice," winced Gai.

Sasuke sneered to himself as he drove down the line,breaking past two Gangmen defenders, skating around the Gangmen goal and flicking his wrist--

Gai pounded his fist against the table. "Caught! By Gangmen goalie, number..."

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by boos.

Sasuke hissed, shooting forward to grapple with Haku. The fragile, pale face looked at him as their sticks parried for the puck. Zabuza appeared at Haku's right, growling, "Kid! Over here!"

Immediately, Haku snapped the puck out to Zabuza, who took off like a battering ram towards Chouji. Neji zoomed in, just missing as Zabuza deflected him and passed off to Haku, who was using the wall to come around to goal...

"No!" Asuma groaned, and Gai took a deep breath. The Gangmen slapped Haku on the back, their teammates in the box slapping their sticks against the walls enthusiastically. The crowd moaned.

Gai sighed. "Goal scored by Gangmen, number 88, Kiri no Haku. Assist by number 7, Momochi Zabuza. Time of the goal..."

No one was listening. Naruto risked a glance at the clock as Sasuke went to square off against Zabuza. Five minutes left in the first period. He hadn't shifted out once, even though Kiba had switched with Kankuro and Sai, Neji had gone out and come back in, and Shikamaru had swapped with Shino. He and Sasuke had played the entire first period. There was still plenty of time in the game to win...

"Sasuke wins the face-off and passes back to number 56, Aburame Shino. Aburame passes to Uzumaki, Aburame, Uzumaki, Hyuuga, Aburame--Here comes Momochi! Aburame passes to Uchiha in the knick of time and goes sprawling!" Gai grinned and Asuma shouted in triumph. "That'll be a call for tripping! Momochi is going to the penalty box and the Konoha Kitsunes get a youthful _power play_!"

The crowd leapt to it's feet. A two minute penalty for tripping with Momochi in the box, three minutes left in the first! A good shot could tie the game.

Jiraiya called Shino back, and the crowd cheered for him as he went in. Kankuro appeared again, and Jiraiya motioned to Naruto.

The captain stared at him. "What? I'm doing great!"

"I know, kid, but it's only the end of the first. Save yourself for later, alright?"

"But--"

"Don't be stupid, Uzumaki! Get in here! Inuzuka, go!"

Naruto seethed as he took a seat in the box. Kiba shot him an apologetic glance and hit the ice. For a moment, the crowd didn't seem to notice. When they did, there was a ripple of discomfort--a power play without Uzumaki? What was Jiraiya thinking?

All thoughts were dispelled as the puck dropped and Kiba drove down before passing off to Kankuro. Letting it slide back to Sasuke, Kankuro floated back near the Gangmen goal, eyeing the two Gangmen defenders warily as Gai narrated,

"Uchiha with the puck, driving down and passing off to Inuzuka. Inuzuka avoiding Haku, skating around the back taking the shot--wide! Number 10, Sabaku no Kankuro with the puck, no one near him--slapshot! Deflected by the goalie! Haku gets the puck, takes it past Uchiha right by Hyuuga, he's going to get it out of the zone into neutral territory, it's loose...picked up by Kankuro, brings it around and passes off to Hyuuga--Haku with the puck, trying to get by Uchiha, _but no_! Uchiha rams him and takes the puck, line up up misses! Inuzuka's got it, shot, deflected! Kankuro, shot, caught!" Gai sat back in his seat, looking bewildered. "Tens seconds left in this power play. Haku goes for it, shoots, _saved _by Akimichi! And he's decided enough is enough, he'll wait 'till Uchiha comes around to put it back in play. Power play is over as Uchiha comes back into the Gangmen zone, Momochi is back and intercepts a pass to Hyuuga. Heading straight for Akimichi, there's no one to stop him--deflected by Akimichi! Picked up by Inuzuka..."

Naruto sat, leaning forward anxiously and scowling as the buzzer sounded, the players came in and the first period was over.

During the intermission, he was given no chance to complain as Jiraiya fervently outlined a new plan. Everyone nodded, the new lineup got ready, and Naruto watched as the battle raged on.

The second period was an utter stalemate--no one was getting anywhere, even though Momochi had been called in again for high-sticking. Naruto shot a ferocious glare at Jiraiya as the second period ended.

"Okay, guys," Jiraiya barked, ignoring the two blue eyes staring at him. "They've tightened up on defense. That damn goalie is looking hot, but no one's invincible. Akimichi, you've been doing good. Keep it up. You know the drill, act as a triangle and keep the damn puck away from that kid! Momochi's a problem if he gets it, but he'll only get it if Haku passes it to him, and make no mistake that'll happen..."

The setup was good. Naruto clenched his hands in frustration as Jiraiya had Sai take his place in the lineup. By now, the fans had nearly forgotten he wasn't on the ice--a one point deficit in the third on the first game of the season was too important to bother over details.

Far in the corner of the locker room, Gaara sat quietly, all his gear on with his stick in his hands. Naruto looked at him. "...Gonna play?"

Slowly, Gaara shook his head. "Probably not. It was stupid of me not to come to practice the other day. I don't blame Jiraiya for pulling me."

"I blame him for pulling _me_," Naruto growled, taking a deep breath and grabbing his stick. "I'm gonna play this period if I have to pay for my own pizza the rest of the season. See ya' later, Gaara." He exited the locker room and joined his teammates in the box.

Slowly, Gaara stood to follow him. He might as well--this game wasn't over yet.

On the ice, Momochi Zabuza was destroying them.

"Another check on Uchiha by Momochi, and he's got the puck! Pass to a defenseman, has it again, coming around--incredible save by Akimichi! Momochi's trying again but _no_! Akimichi won't let it happen! Hyuuga gets it away and it slides outta the zone. That'll be an icing call on Hyuuga. Haku's going for it, beat there by Uchiha! Lines up, shoots--stick save! Ten left in the third and the Gangmen are not letting go!"

Kakashi was leaning forward in his seat, eye glinting as he tensed and swore under his breath when Momochi took the puck. Ino was shouting, the beer in her hand splashing everywhere and showering Hinata, Sakura had her hands pressed tight together, Moriko growled. Geshi, Kani, and Shay were going nuts as the crowd around chanted, "LET'S GO KITS! LET'S GO KITS! LET'S GO KITS!"

Asuma was howling and Gai was half-way out of his chair. "Momochi to Haku, Haku to Momochi, _here comes Uchiha_! Has it, going down the line, avoids Momochi--_checked by Haku! Uchiha is down! _He's not getting up, and the ref calls time and talks to Uchiha." A pause, and then incredulous disbelief colored Gai's voice. "Uchiha is coming in! He can hardly stand! Jiraiya calls the players in for a time-out as Uchiha is lead away."

The crowd yowled and screamed and swore and booed. Gangmen fans cheered and laughed maliciously as the ref made no call. A new chant sounded, "REF YOU SUCK! REF YOU SUCK! REF YOU SUCK!"

Moriko winced. "Must we, really?"

"REF YOU SUCK!" Geshi howled. "REF YOU SUCK!"

Hinata shrugged helplessly and glued her eyes to the ice. Would Naruto come in again...?

In the box, Naruto had leapt to his feet. "Old man!"

Jiraiya waved a hand at him. "Yeah, I know, get in there! And for the love of gods, score!"

"I will, 'ttebayo, but..." Naruto fixed Jiraiya with a hard stare. "We need Gaara. You're gonna have an empty net, right?" The old man nodded. "Then we need Gaara. He's our best defenseman and you know it."

Jiraiya bristled. "Don't smart mouth me, kid. Get your ass on the ice and put the puck in the damn goal! I'll throw in Tanuki when he shows up for practice!"

"But--"

"Do you wanna play or not? Shuddup and get moving!"

They went. Jiraiya leaned back in the box. He felt the pager at his belt buzz and looked down at it.

S HERE NO EN PLAY GAARA

Jiraiya frowned. Kakashi had been his co-coach once, but that didn't mean he could give orders. Who was S? Jiraiya thought quickly. Shay? And why not an empty net? The old man sighed.

He knew much more than Kakashi. Much, much more. But, then again, Hatake had been the boys' coach in college. He knew them all almost better than Jiraiya did.

No empty net. Shay was here. Play Gaara?

Fine.

Three minutes left in the third, still behind by one. Jiraiya signaled to Neji and jabbed a finger at Gaara. "You. Get in there."

Gaara looked at him and rose from his seat. "...Yes."

The crowd was on their feet, screaming as Gaara hit the ice running. Momochi had the puck, avoiding Kiba and Shino with terrifying ease. Gaara cut across him, twisting the puck away. Zabuza snarled at him as Naruto picked it up and took it down, maneuvering around and between the Gangmen defenders and passing to Kankuro.

"Shot--blocked--back to Inuzuka, passes to Aburame, Inuzuka, Gaara, shoots--_SCOORRRE!!!"_

The buzzer blared, lights flashed, the fans screamed themselves hoarse. Geshi and Kani howled, Kakashi grinned, Moriko shouted, "YES!". Sakura and Ino almost hugged--and then remembered who they were and stopped. Hinata smiled.

Shay had frozen. "Did he say...Gaara?"

Geshi, Moriko, Hinata and Kakashi looked at her out of the corners of their eyes, but said nothing.

Gai was jubilant. "And a deadly wristshot by number 1, the youthful Gaara! The game is tied one-one with less than a minute left in the third! Ladies and gentlemen, we're going into _overtime_!"

The minute ticked away slowly. One last intermission, a desperate plan from Jiraiya, and the Kitsunes stepped out again.

The crowd was roaring, "LET'S GO KITS! LET'S GO KITS! LET'S GO KITS!"

Puck dropped. Shino got it, back to Naruto. "Uzumaki weaving up the ice, to Gaara, Uzumaki, shoots, bounces off the goal post! Haku with it, driving down, Momochi with him, there's no one there--" Gai slumped back in his chair and groaned. The crowd groaned. Jiraiya groaned.

The Gangmen came together in a group, patting each other's helmets and laughing.

The refs huddled together, talking in rapid whispers.

Then, one of the zebras shook his head and held up his arms.

The crowd roared.

"Too many men on the ice! The Gangmen had too many men on the ice! No goal!" Gai laughed, the Gangmen stared at each other in disbelief. The players got back into position...

"Uzumaki. Gaara. Uzumaki, Aburame, Inuzuka with a rapid rally of passes. Back to Aburame, he goes around with it--stolen by Momochi! Caught by Akimichi! Gaara with it, tries to pass to Inuzuka--ooh! Gaara checked hard by Momochi! The puck is loose, Aburame with it, pass to Kankuro, Inuzuka, Gaara, Inuzuka, Uzumaki, takes the slapshot--"

The Gangmen goalie dove...

---

**Author's Note: **Because I am an evil, evil, evil little twit, Imma leave you hanging here. P

Not because I don't have the results of the game, I do, and in the original draft they were included in the chapter, but I think I'll leave that to next week.

Yep, I'm gonna try and stay on a regular schedual now. I hope.

Anyway. There is SOME purpose behind the numbers of the players. I'll try and list all the ones I put in this chapter. Tell me is I leave anyone out.

_Number 16, Uchiha Sasuke_--16 is the number for...some element starting with an "s"...in the periodic table. I forget which element. Anyway, it's highly flammable, so I chose that. I could have chosen something more flammable, but all the other choices were either numbers I'd already given to someone else, or odd numbers. And I like odd numbers, so therefore Sasuke doesn't get one. Ha.

((Gothica: Oooh, yeah, you sure showed him!

Me: D ))

_Number 13, Nara Shikamaru--_No special reason behind this one, really. I just thought it would be kind of funny if Shika was the "bad luck" number. He's so lazy I doubt he has any karma. ^^"

_Number 12, Inuzuka Kiba--_Okay, this is a direct result from looking for German words that could sound like English words. My German teacher claims that the number 12 in German, pronounced kind of like tz-wolf, sounds like "twelve" in English. Actually, he claims that when written out the words look alike--which I can see, I guess--but when spoken I think zwolf sounds like wolf. And a wolf is type of dog. And Akamaru is a dog. And Kiba likes dogs. So there.

_Number 6, Hyuuga Neji--_Who here is a Bleach fan? Who here is a Byakuya fan? Hmmm? Well, in my messed up brain, the words "Byakuya" and "Byakugan" link up. As soon as I heard Byakuya's name I thought "Is he a Hyuuga?" And they kind of act alike, too, sometimes...and Byakuya's squad number is six. So, Neji is number six.

_Number 9, Uzumaki Naruto--_This is kind of obvious. Nine-tailed fox...Naruto...number nine...get it? **shot **DX

_Number 3, Akimichi Chouji--_Just because of those three pills he took when fighting that big guy with the pinkish hair that worked for Orochimaru. You know, when they all went after Sasuke and the Sound Four? I've forgotten that big guy's name. Something with a J in it. I'll have to look it up later...Oh well. He's dead. Wait to go, Chouji, and your three mega-ultra-chakra-pills of doom! :D **shot again** D:

_Number 88 of the Gato Gangmen, Haku--_Give me a break, okay?! This kid shows up for like three episodes, turns slightly emo, jumps in front of a freakin' lightning jutsu and dies. He doesn't even have a blasted last name! There's not much to work with here! Anyway...basically, if you turn the number eight sideways, it looks like the infinity symbol, and he used those ice mirrors to screw with people's minds, like the number infinity. :) I couldn't make Haku number eight, because Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is number eight. **wearing foam finger** WE LOVE YOU, OVIE!** shotshotshot!** D

_Number 7 of the Gato Gangmen, Momochi Zabuza--_Once again, not much to work with...He was part of the Seven Mist Swordsmen. That's about it.

_Number 56, Aburame Shino--_HE. NEVER. SPEEEAAAKS. EVAAAAAAAAAARRRR. EVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR. So I just went to and looked at his profile. In metric units, he weighs 56.6. So, number 56. If anyone has any better ideas, please tell me. I think Shino's pretty damn epic and wanted to think of something better for his number. Oh well. D:

_Number 10, Kankuro--_NOT EVEN A LAST NAME. WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU, KISHIMOTO? WHY MUST YOU MAKE ME SUFFER? **ahem **Anyway...Kankuro didn't even HAVE a number mentioned in here in the first draft. I did some quick, probably misguided thinking and remembered he has the one puppet that's a scorpion, right? Or was that Sasori...? Crap. Whatever. And that reminds me of the word "Scorpio", which I'm pretty sure is the zodiac sign for October, which is the tenth month of the year. Anyone have any better ideas, tell me.

_Number 1, Gaara--_I'd pick up my rant about a last name, but whatever. Pretty obvious. One-tailed tanuki...Gaara...number one...I honestly don't put as much thought as I say I do into these, okay?! P

And that's it for now. You can strangle me if you want for the cliffhanger. Bwhahaha.


End file.
